"Goodbye, kids! Class dismissed.", Katherine mused, and the children stood up all with happy faces.

"Goodbye and thank you, Ms. Vanessa!", they all answered. The children grabbed their bags and ran out the door, screaming happily. Katherine chuckled to herself and shook her head.

"Kids.", she said, closing the door until her eyes laid on one bag still left in the room.

"Where's that boy?", she wondered. Katherine started walking around the corridors and bumped into Mrs. Gert.

"Oh- sorry, my dear!", Mrs. Gert said, and Katherine smiled.

"It's nothing, Mrs. Gert. I was wondering, have you seen a little boy-"

"Oh, him again? He's probably in the library being all alone.", she answered, and Katherine tilted her head.

"Why is that? What happened to him?", Katherine asked. Mrs. Gert sighed.

"Well, you see, there was a bombing that happened 3 days ago near this school. It was around 5PM that time, and the only people that were left were a few teachers and I. Or so we thought.", Mrs. Gert started.

"There was smoke suddenly coming in from all sides, and we grabbed our handkerchiefs to cover our noses and mouths. Who knows what's in there?", she added. Katherine kept silent as she listened to the whole story.

"That's when we heard someone banging on the door of one of the classrooms. We opened it in a rush and saw him, having difficulty breathing.", she narrated, getting all emotional.

"We took him outside quickly and away from all the smoke. That's when he started shaking violently. After a few seconds though, he stopped. We were afraid he was dead."

"But?", Katherine asked.

"But thank the heavens, he wasn't. He was just confused as to what happened and said the last thing he remembered was smoke entering the classroom.", Mrs. Gert spoke.

"Why was he the only one left in the classroom?", Katherine asked again. Mrs. Gert shrugged.

"I don't -"

They were cut off by the honking of a car. Katherine saw the window roll down and reveal her one and only jerk of a partner: Johnny.

"Well, it looks like your husband is here.", Mrs. Gert said, leading ger outside. Katherine shook her head.

"Oh, no. You're mistake, Mrs. Gert. He's my brother.", she answered, earning only a nod from the older lady.

"Take care then. I'll see you tomorrow.", Mrs. Gert stated, waving her hand. Katherine did the same.

She got in the car and was met with her partner's confused face.

"What?"

"Who was that?", Johnny asked.

"That's the school principal. Why'd you ask?", she answered. Johnny started the car.

"She looks familiar.", he said, and Katherine cocked an eyebrow.

"Really?", she asked, and Johnny nodded.

"Let's pick up the twins.", he said, and they drove off. After a few minutes, they reached the kids' school.

"Hi, auntie Vanessa and uncle Johnny!", Sam mused, ranning towards tha car. Sarah waved goodbye to her new friends and approached the vehicle.

"So, how was your day?", Katherine asked once they got settled in their seats.

"We've got a lot to tell you, Ms. Katherine and Mr. Johnny.", Sarah answered, and Sam nodded his head.

"Okay, then. All the more reason to reach home quickly.", Johnny said.

The drive home was filled with giggles and laughs because of the stories the kids told about their new friends at school and the jokes Johnny cracked up.

Katherine, on the other hand, was silent. She kept thinking about what happened to that boy.

'Why was he the only one left in the room? And at that time of the day?', she thought.

Johnny noticed her silence, so he snapped his fingers infront of her face, making her shake her head violently.

"What are you thinking about?", he asked, and the kids leaned forward, anticipating her reply.

"There's just this little boy at school who's been acting really odd today. Some kids told me it's because of the smoke from the bombing 3 days ago.", she replied, and Johnny had a confused expression on his face, as well.

"What do you mean by 'odd'?", Johnny asked, glancing at her from time to time.

"When I tried to approach him earlier, he freaked out on me and ran off. The whole day, I didn't see him.", she replied.

"Maybe he got scared of your face.", Johnny muttered, and the kids giggled. Katherine gave him a glare.

"I'm serious, Johnny.", she stated, and Johnny scoffed.

"Well, that's a first.", he replied, still with a smirk on his face. Katherine huffed and rolled her eyes. She crossed her arms and stared outside the window.

The ride was silent after that.

A few minutes later, they finally reached their home. Katherine got out first, and Johnny could sense that she was mad. Mad at him, again.

"Come on, kids. Let me help you with your bags.", Katherine said blankly, and the twins looked at each other. They weren't used to Katherine being this way.

"We're sorry, Ms. Katherine.", Sam said, and the young lady's gaze softened.

"Why?", she asked.

"For laughing at what Mr. Johnny said.", Sarah continued. Katherine smiled and hugged them.

"You didn't do anything wrong, kids. It's not your fault.", she said, and the twins nodded.

Johnny heard the whole conversation, and a pang of guilt hit his chest.

'Why am I feeling this? It's only Katherine. Later on, she's gonna talk to me again.', he thought, but the feeling still won't go away.

As they reached the door, Katherine fumbled with the keys. Johnny stepped forward to help her open the door, but Katherine blocked his path. She eventually opened the door herself.

"Gee, you really are mad at me, aren't you?", he spoke, but the woman ignored him. The kids looked at Johnny and gave him a sad look.

"Why don't you apologize, Mr. Johnny?", Sarah said, and Sam nodded.

Johnny sighed. "But I was just fooling around.", he replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, apparently, she wasn't in the mood.", Sam stated. They left him and went to the kitchen, where Katherine was.

She was quietly preparing dinner, and the twins were helping her set the table. Johnny hesitated whether to offer his help or not, but he decided to be a man and suck it in.

"Let me do it.", Johnny offered, seeing Katherine chopping the vegetables. The latter rolled her eyes and left the knife on the chopping board, letting him do it.

Johnny quickly took the knife and started chopping the vegetables. At the corner of his eye, he saw Katherine marinating the meat.

He wanted to say something to get rid of the awkwardness, but he didn't know what.

The smell of their meal cooking alerted the kids, who were currently watching television, to come running towards the dining room.

Katherine took the chopped vegetables from Johnny and added it to her dish. The young man just sighed at her actions.

Seconds later, their meal was served and its mouth-watering aroma filled the dining room. The twins were licking their lips in excitement, and this brought a small smile to Katherine's lips.

"Wow, this looks lovely, Ms. Katherine!", they said simultaneously. Katherine thanked them and sat down. Johnny followed her actions.

"Yeah, this looks great.", Johnny said in a hopeful manner, but Katherine refused to even look at him.

"So kids, did you find anything at your school?", Katherine asked, taking a spoonful of meat in her mouth.

"We discovered that in our school, there were three 4th graders who were affected by the light blue smoke.", Sarah spoke.

"Apparently, the bombing happened during recess time. The three kids were goofing around in the playground when suddenly, blue smoke started surrounding them. Everyone panicked and ran away, but it was too late for the three.", Sam added.

"Yeah, earlier they were acting strange. They barely talked to anyone, and they always stayed in the back. We tried to approach them, but they all ran off. Just like what happened with you, Ms. Katherine.", Sarah said, and Katherine nodded, processing their statements.

"What happened to them?", Katherine asked, not expecting an answer in return. They all shrugged and continued eating their meal.

"What about you, Mr. Johnny? How was your day at the research center?", Sam asked, which made Katherine roll her eyes at the mention of his name.

"I got to speak to Dr. Pernham.", he spoke and Katherine's head shot up to meet his gaze.

"How was he? What did he look like? Was he really-", Sarah ranted, and Johnny asked her to calm down.

"Relax. I only got to speak to him briefly. Your Uncle Maxwell introduced us.", Johnny answered.

"He looked old and tired. Maxwell told me that Pernham was a solitary man, and a lot of the doctor's co-workers found him odd.", he added, before eating again.

"Maxwell also said that he was the only one in the center who actually talks to Pernham. I don't know why, but I'm about to change that.", Johnny finished, and the twins nodded. He caught a glimpse of Katherine looking at him, then quickly returning her attention to her meal.

Soon, they were all full and sleepy. The twins offered to do the dishes this time, since last night, the two senior agents took the initiative. Katherine was hesitant, but with much persuasion from the thoughtful kids, ascended the room to retire.

She didn't plan on sleeping beside her partner, though. So, she grabbed some pillows and a blanket and made her way to the door, only to be blocked by a certain somebody.

"What are you doing?", Johnny asked.

"What does it look like?", she retorted, and tried to push the man before her, but sadly, he was stronger.

"Why are you so mad at me? I only teased you a bit. You don't have to be such a baby about it.", Johnny said, a little bit of irritation in his voice. He didn't like Katherine being like this towards him.

"Me? A baby? F**k, can't you understand I was being serious earlier? We have a mission, for crying out loud. Can't you be more mature about what's at stake here?", she answered back.

"I was just goofing around to lighten the mood! We're all stressed about this mission! Can't you just loosen up?", Johnny replied, waving his hands in the air.

"Why can't you accept the fact that you're wrong this time, huh?", Katherine spoke, and Johnny opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth.

"Let me go to sleep. I've had enough drama today.", she said, pushing him out of the way. Johnny shook his head and carried her.

"PUT ME DOWN! LEAVE ME ALONE!", she yelled, and the twins came running upstairs to see what was going on.

"No! You're sleeping here.", Johnny answered, but Katherine kept smacking his back.

"Stop it! Stop being such a jerk-", she was cut off by Johnny hugging her tightly.

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm... sorry.", he said softly, and Katherine couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I was a jerk. I just can't explain why I like teasing you so much.", he whispered in her ear, and it sent tingles down her spine.

'What the f**k is this guy doing to me?', she thought, confused at her emotions.

"I'll be more careful now, alright?", he mused, and Katherine nodded slowly. She was still bewildered at his actions. Johnny was acting really sweet and vulnerable, and this was the first time she saw this side of him.

She kinda liked it.

"It's... okay.", she replied, and Johnny pulled away, smiling at her a bit.

"I'm going to bed.", Katherine added, making her way to the bed and lying down. She faced the opposite side and had the blanket covering her face.

Johnny let out a huge breath he didn't know he was holding. He turned around and saw the twins giggling and making heart shapes with their hands. Johnny rolled his eyes playfully and muttered a goodnight to them.

He later laid down on the other side of the bed, his back faced Katherine's own. He turned off the lamp and started to shut his eyes.

"Goodnight, Katherine.", he said, not waiting for her to say it back because he thought she was asleep. He slowly started to drift into a peaceful slumber.

"Goodnight, Johnny."